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As a pastor, you know these words well and have probably preached and taught on these verses. But I encourage you to read and study them intently for your own spiritual edification and equipping. You know that no man can "be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might" by his own power and will. The Lord equips a man for the Office of the Ministry and sustains him in the ministry with His Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit comes to us through the Means of Grace, the Word of God, and His Sacraments. It is therefore critical to every pastor's spiritual health and welfare that he be a student of the Word of God, reading and studying it regularly. . . . Set aside a specific time each day for self-feeding in and with the Word of God. There are some excel- lent tools available to assist a pastor in maintaining a disciplined and orderly reading of the Bible. Our Lutheran Service Book includes a "Daily Lectionary" which provides an excellent daily reading of the Scriptures. There are also some very good devotional books for pastors that include a structured reading of the Bible. One of my favor- ites is A Year with the Church Fathers by Dr. Scott R. Murray. In his book, Dr. Murray directs the reader to a reading from the Psalms, followed by a reading from the Old Testament, and then a reading from the New Testament. There are then some devo- tional thoughts both from himself and from one of the Church Fathers. I use this book often and recommend it. It is available from Concordia Publishing House. The Treasury of Daily Prayer is another excellent devotional book for pastors available at Concordia Publishing House. CPH also has several editions of Day by Day, which are daily devotions taken from the writings of Martin Luther. And of course, Luther's Small Catechism is a staple for a struc- tured study of the Bible and the basic Christian doctrines. And a great aid for a structured daily study of the catechism is The Lord Will Answer, which is also available at CPH. These are only a few examples of many good devotional books and guides for reading the Bible that are available. And using a variety of such resources is a good way to keep your devotional reading fresh and new each year. However it is managed, maintaining a disciplined reading of the Bible is of great spiritual benefit for any pastor. Another way to be engaged with the Word of God is to use an audio version of the Bible. Years ago, we used to use "The Bible on Tape," but there are now a number of ways to listen to an excellent recorded version of the Bible. And such a tool is an excellent way to hear the Word of God while driving, while walking or running, or as a soothing and comforting way to go to sleep at night. The bottom line is a pastor should read and study the Bible regularly for his own devotional life and spiritual growth. He should do what he encour- ages others to do. • It is therefore critical to every pastor's spiritual health and welfare that he be a student of the Word of God. Continue reading Navigating Ministry Challenges and learn more about other ministry leaders in this book. You'll find encouragements to continue working through every obstacle. Find this title and others in this issue at cph.org. NAVIGATING MINISTRY CHALLENGES Lutheran Life 19

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